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Thursday, May 11, 2017

May 11, 1889

Happy
eleventh of May to all of you! It's
also a Throwback Thursdaykind
of day, and I think I'm going to touch upon a subject that is quite sweet. May 11 may have been the last day of this
gentleman's life, but in the over one hundred years since he passed, he made
his mark on the world - one delicious footprint at a time.

But before we get to that, I'll talk about some of the other events that took
place on May 11, as well as celebrity birthdays.

So,
for historical happenings of May 11, we have the following;

868 - A copy of the Diamond Sutra is printed in
China, making this the oldest known dated printed book

1502 - Christopher Columbus departs from Cadiz to
embark on his fourth and final visit to the Americas

1812 - John Bellingham assassinates the Prime
Minister of the United Kingdom, Spencer Perceval in the lobby of London's House
of Commons

1858 - Minnesota becomes the thirty-second state
to join the United States of America

Now,
as I mentioned before, we're taking a trip back in time over a hundred
years. It's one of the oldest dates
that I've ever taken a trip back in time to.

That date is May 11, 1889. Yep. That's right. One hundred and twenty-eight years ago.

I
also mentioned that today's topic is quite sweet considering that this date was
the last day of someone's life.
Actually, that would be considered to be bittersweet, but let's just try
to stick with the theme of the blog.

You see, before he passed away, this man was involved with one of the largest
confection companies in the world.
In fact, it's currently the second largest candy manufacturer in the
world with only Wrigley's ahead of it.
And I'm sure that most of you have sampled some of the products
associated with this particular company...only you probably might not know it.

Truth be told, I think when it comes down to it, Easter is probably one of the
best days to sample their wares. If the
bunny that clucks like a chicken doesn't jog your memory, certainly the
delectable tastes of a Creme Egg, a packet of Mini Eggs, and perhaps even a
couple of bars of Dairy Milk chocolate might give you an idea as to what
subject we're talking about...

...or,
in MY case, one gigantic Dairy Milk bar.
A holiday tradition for me since the mid 2000s at least.

Yes, John Cadbury was one of the leading figures behind the creation
of the Cadbury Company - a confectionary company
behind some of your favourite chocolate treats. Whether it was Curlywurlys, Fruit and Nut bars, Rum and Butter
Bars (WHICH NEED TO BE BROUGHT BACK ASAP), or Crunchie Bars (the BEST way to
eat sponge toffee), I can't think of a kid in my area that HASN'T had at least
one of these treats.

Well,
any kids that aren't allergic to chocolate anyway.

But
here's some things that you might not know about this British chocolate
maker. Well, aside from the fact that
he died on May 11, 1889 at the age of 87.

Born
in Birmingham, England on August 12, 1801, Cadbury was born into a family of
Quakers - a historic group of religious movements known as the Religious
Society of Friends. But Cadbury found
that being a Quaker in 19th century England meant that certain opportunities
were not available to him. Quakers were
not allowed to enter or enroll in a university, so any hopes of a career in law
or medicine were not an option. Nor
could he join the armed forces, as Quakers were also pacifists.

So,
he shifted his focus towards business opportunities, and one thing that you
might not be aware of is the fact that before he went into the world of
developing and producing chocolate treats, he embarked on a crusade to stop
animal cruelty. He formed an
organization known as the Animal Friends Society which would evolve into the
Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Now that's an interesting piece of information
that I didn't even know myself!

It
was in 1824 that Cadbury would begin his chocolate empire of sorts. He started selling teas, coffees, and cocoa
mixtures in Birmingham, and soon started producing his own versions of cocoa
and drinking chocolate for consumption.
It wasn't long after that when he decided to go into the business of
chocolate making with his brother, Benjamin.
In 1854, not long after opening up an office in London, they received a
Royal Warrant from Queen Victoria herself to manufacture chocolate and cocoa to
her and her royal court. You know your
product must be good if the Queen orders the product exclusively.

Tough times in the 1850s caused the split in partnership between John and
Benjamin, and by the time that John's sons George and Richard took over the
business, it was already in financial trouble and was forced to lay off almost
half the staff. However, the sons'
decision to abandon the coffee and tea part of the business and focus more on
the chocolate development paid off, and by the mid 1860s, the business had done
a complete turnaround! I'm sure John
would have been proud.

By the time that John passed away in 1889, Cadbury was becoming a huge
powerhouse in the chocolate making business.
It's just a shame he didn't live long enough to sample the Dairy Milk
bar - the quintessential Cadbury creation made with more milk than any other
milk chocolate bar wasn't invented until 1905.
I'm sure he would have found it delicious!